Harriet B. reviewed on + 6 more book reviews
This is the first Alison Weir book I've read, and I really enjoyed it and plan on reading more of her work. She takes you through what evidence there is, and what there isn't, and her thought processes behind the conclusions she comes to, which I really like. I want to know *why* the author makes the assertions they do, and this author tries her best to do so given that a lot of Mary Boleyns life was lived in obscurity, and there are huge stretches of her life where no contemporary accounts of her doings or whereabouts or even birth are known. Weir uses what evidence there is along with some reasoning going by what we know of her family/the court, etc.
She also takes you through a lot of the history of what has been written (often erroneously) about Mary Boleyn over the centuries to give her the stereotype she is often given, and I found it intriguing how she often points out that one biased "history" of someone with ulterior motives is handed down through the centuries as fact to give Mary Boleyn the reputation she has today, when nothing really survives from her time period about those aspects of her life.
Overall if you enjoy history and especially the Tudors this is an interesting read. She takes you through what evidence there is on everything from the paternity of her children, her relationship with her parents and famous sister, Anne, and of course how she ended up the mistress of kings and came to be represented over time as a woman who would sleep with anyone. Weir paints a sympathetic portrait of a woman who found herself a disappointing child compared to her dazzling sister in an ambitious family, put in situations beyond her control, and ultimately breaking away to marry for love and retire into a quiet life away from court, further infuriating her family, but ultimately escaping their tragic downfall.
She also takes you through a lot of the history of what has been written (often erroneously) about Mary Boleyn over the centuries to give her the stereotype she is often given, and I found it intriguing how she often points out that one biased "history" of someone with ulterior motives is handed down through the centuries as fact to give Mary Boleyn the reputation she has today, when nothing really survives from her time period about those aspects of her life.
Overall if you enjoy history and especially the Tudors this is an interesting read. She takes you through what evidence there is on everything from the paternity of her children, her relationship with her parents and famous sister, Anne, and of course how she ended up the mistress of kings and came to be represented over time as a woman who would sleep with anyone. Weir paints a sympathetic portrait of a woman who found herself a disappointing child compared to her dazzling sister in an ambitious family, put in situations beyond her control, and ultimately breaking away to marry for love and retire into a quiet life away from court, further infuriating her family, but ultimately escaping their tragic downfall.
